A Gathering Of Angels
by Dannell Lites
Summary: An Azrael/Touched By An Angel Crossover!


SPIFFY DISCLAIMER THINGIE!  
  
Ah don't own Azrael, Carleton LeHah, Nomoz, Ludovic Valley nor any of that crowd! DC Comics   
does!:):) Nor do Ah own Andrew, Tess or Monica from "Touched By An Angel"! WGBS   
Television, Ah believe has those rights! G This is a fanfic for entertainment purposes only and   
not intended to infringe upon copyrights held by DC Comics, Warner television or any others!   
*eepppp* So don't sue moi!  
  
Rated PG-13 for some disturbing violence and such.  
  
NOTE: For those of ya'll who are paying attention, yes, this is a rewrite of a previous story Ah have   
written:):) But since that story passed by the way pretty much to universal boredom ... The truth is,   
once again, Ah have written this story just for moi since Ah doubt that anybody else will really be all   
that interested in reading it. But the concept of the crossover itself is so very *obvious* and fitting   
under the circumstances that Ah make no apology for it. G  
  
Now ... on with the tale!:):)  
  
  
  
  
Andrew blinked his green eyes and frowned.  
  
"*That's* my assignment?" he blurted as he watched the tall, ominously costumed man disappear   
over the Gotham rooftops, leaving pain in his wake.  
  
"That's right, Angel Boy," declared Tess tartly and smiled. "He's all yours!"  
  
"Even if I don't want him?" Andrew demanded to know. Maybe there was a mistake? He could   
always hope.  
  
"Oh no, Angel Boy!" Tess was firm. "You don't get to pick and choose! God's love is for   
everybody. Not just the good folks, but everybody! Even *him*." Andrew nodded ruefully. He   
had the feeling he was going to need the practical, older Angel to remind him of that frequently during   
this Assignment. This was going to be a tough one, he could tell.   
  
"Right now he's punishing the guilty," Tess said. "After all ....that's what he was created for. Watch."   
  
Together they watched as Andrew's latest Assignment impaled three intruding guards at once on the   
point of his flaming sword. With a scowl beneath his concealing hood, the garishly clad man lifted   
one guard, still impaled and struggling feebly, above his head. With a flick of his wrist the angelic   
chaos-maker tossed the screaming gun runner away like a rag doll and turned his attention   
elsewhere. The strong smell of blood and ozone from the ionic sword in his hand burdened the air.   
With almost feline grace the powerfully built man leapt into the air as the shouting, panicked guards   
fell back and attempted to regroup. Like a fox among helpless hens, the costumed man landed   
among his foes. Wordless in his fury, he cut them down without mercy. They had no time to even   
scream before death took them. Like ripe wheat the fleeing men were mown down, falling to the   
floor to lie still and lifeless.  
  
"Carleton LeHah!" the harsh voice lashed out, pointed and sharp as the sword its owner held and   
colder than glacial, arctic ice. "*Know* that men call you betrayer! *Know* that the godly name   
you defiler and heretic! You are guilty. And the guilty must be punished."  
  
Backing away, the man named LeHah drew the heavy caliber pistol at his belt. "No!" he shouted.   
"Damn you, I killed you once! Why won't you stay dead? Die!" Several shots rang out, echoing in   
the large room as booming thunder. Wide eyed with horror, the besieged arms dealer Carleton   
LeHah, late the treasurer and embezzler of funds from the Order of St. Dumas, watched as the   
bullets from his gun ricocheted harmlessly off the cloth of the advancing man's colorful costume.  
  
"Mortal fool!" his foe hissed. "You cannot harm God's Messenger of Death! My Holy armor has   
improved since last we met!"  
  
With that, he struck with his flaming blade and, spewing blood from his mouth, Carleton LeHah fell   
dying to the floor to join his minions.  
  
Surrounded by the violence, at the heart of it, cradled safely within its warm and soothing familiarity,   
the tall costumed man gave vent to his joy, until his breath came in short, quick gasps, like a   
wounded predator brought to bay, at last, by packs of persistent hounds. Slowly, he sank to one   
knee, turning his face toward Heaven.   
  
"St. Dumas!" he cried. "Again I have done your will. The blasphemer LeHah is no more. Will you   
not bless me?" He bowed his head and his lips moved in silent prayer.  
  
There are certain human beings, gifted with The Sight, who could have seen a ghostly outline of the   
figure that materialized, then. But the three unseen observers, being Angels, had a much clearer   
vision of the newcomer. Tall and stately, clad in Crusader armor, St. Dumas lay both gauntleted   
hands on the kneeling youth's head.  
  
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant of righteousness," he whispered. "Like your father before   
you, you serve me well. You are blessed."  
  
When the figure faded the man rose and crossed himself. Huge eyed, Monica stamped her small   
foot in anger. "Tess!" she cried. "How - how can God allow something like this? That spirit was no   
saint!" Andrew prudently remained silent but agreement could be glimpsed in the depths of his   
verdant eyes.  
  
"Now just one minute Miss Wings!" came Tess' reproof, stern and sharp. "Don't you go questioning   
The Almighty, now! That's not your place!"  
  
The auburn haired younger Angel bowed her head. "I know ... I know ... " she murmured. She   
looked up suddenly, her glance pleading. "But ... I don't understand ... why would God countenance   
such - such -"  
  
"God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform, sweetie," answered Tess with assurance.   
"You can be sure that He has plans for The Order of St. Dumas. That they have a purpose under   
Heaven. Waste not, want not, that's God's policy."  
  
Chaos descended into the room, then, with the belated arrival of a number of more guards. Taking   
in the gruesome sight greeting their stunned eyes, many of them froze.  
  
Like the parting waves of the Red Sea before the Israelite host, the frightened guards parted before   
him as the costumed man made his serene way to his goal, with a scowl fit to frighten demons, visible   
even through the mask. He took a moment to savor the smile of terror frozen on one youthful   
guard's face. Then the young man's gun exploded with a touch of the burning sword and he fell to   
the ground, wounded and blind, to add his screams to the numerous howls of anguish already rising   
on the strong wind. Pell mell, the rest fled.  
  
"Mother of God ..." breathed a stunned Monica. Tess shook her black and silver head.  
  
"God has very little to do with *that* man," the elder Angel assured her. "Not yet anyway. And yet   
...in a strange way Angel Girl, God has *everything* to do with him."  
  
"Who *is* he?" her companion asked. Tess shook her head again.  
  
"He's not sure. Most of the time he can't remember the name they gave him when he was 'born'."   
The angelic Caseworker told her. "His name didn't matter to them, you see. It isn't very often that   
he even remembers he *has* a name. His creators called him Azrael after the Angel of Vengeance   
and Destruction and told him he was an Angel of the Lord."  
  
The two younger Angels paled. Monica covered her mouth with her hands. Andrew only looked   
sad, after a moment.  
  
"And that's what he calls *himself* most often. But that's not the name he was born with," the silver   
haired elder Angel said. Monica shivered. "When his 'father' was allowed to name him, he called   
him Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul Valley."   
  
"He isn't ... I mean he can't actually *be* ... : Monica stammered.  
  
Andrew looked grim. "Can't he? Azrael hasn't been seen in Heaven for a long time," he reminded   
his young co-worker. "No one knows exactly where he is or what he's doing." He turned toward   
Tess and closed his green eyes, his voice almost beseeching.   
  
"*Please* don't tell me that I'm here to coax Azrael back into the Host. *Please*."  
  
Tess smiled. "No, Angel Boy, you're not here for Azrael. You're here for Jean-Paul." she assured   
Andrew who gusted a small sigh of relief at the welcome news.  
  
Monica shook her silky auburn head and gazed off in the direction at the dying guards and Andrew's   
Assignment. "How does someone get like that?" she asked, genuinely baffled. "What happens to   
make a man so - so - ?" Tess chuckled, low in her throat.  
  
"Oh, that's easy, Miss Wings," she informed Monica. "First of all, it helps if you can arrange to be   
genetically modified; the product of generations of training and torture. Then you have to manage to   
be raised and treated as a weapon, not a person, with only one purpose - to kill the heretical. And if   
at all possible you need to be lied to and told that what you do is blessed, God's will; the work of   
Angels. *Then* you need to be convinced that you don't really exist. That you're only a vessel for   
Azrael, God's Angel of Vengeance and Destruction. After that, all you need is about ten generations   
of practice at being one of the all around nastiest, most efficient pieces of killing work on two legs   
..." Her smile was sad. "But mostly what you have to do, sweetie, is *believe*."  
  
The red haired Angel looked appalled.  
  
"All right, Tess," Andrew said quietly. "What am I here for, then?" Tess looked away for an   
instant. Almost unnoticed, she took Andrew's hand in hers.  
  
"What are you always here for, Angel Boy?" she said and her low, rich voice echoed with deep   
compassion for both of them: Andrew and his Assignment.   
  
"He's going to die," she said, simply.  
  
  
  
*************************************************************************************  
  
  
Jean-Paul Valley stepped under the shower's scalding needle spray, his eyes carefully, tightly closed   
against the world. His hands shook as he glided them over his body, wiping away the dirt and filth of   
yet another "Holy Mission". No one, he knew, could see you cry in the rain or in a brisk shower.   
How many had Azrael killed this time, he wondered in dull agony? How many more souls had he   
condemned; sent screaming into the cold arms of Judgment?   
  
He did not know.  
  
He opened his eyes just in time to see the water sleeting off his body, stained now the rich red color   
of the choicest rubies, swirl away almost playfully, spiraling down the waiting drain. To be   
forgotten?  
  
No. Not to be forgotten. Never that.  
  
He closed his eyes once more and when he opened them again the water sheeting from his body ...   
was merely water once more; clear and pure; devoid, now, of any accusing stain.  
  
Presently, he stepped from the shower, reaching for the threadbare towel on its painted rack. But   
before he could begin to dry his muscular body, he sat suddenly down on the closed toilet seat, as if   
overcome with unexpected weariness. His head began to pound. Behind his eyes, a fierce   
headache began to bite and scratch, howling for release. With a small grimace, he reached into the   
medicine cabinet for aspirin. He shook six of the extra-strength tablets into his outstretched palm and   
dry swallowed them. The bottle was almost empty, he saw in dismay. Shopping would be   
necessary in the near future.  
  
Soon, clad only in pajama bottoms depicting the humorous antics of Garfield the Cat, he padded soft   
and barefooted into the tiny kitchen of his minuscule three room apartment. For long moments he   
simply stood there, and then closed his eyes in resignation. He should eat something, he knew. But   
his stomach rejected the idea. He did not wish to be sick and he knew that he would be if he ate.   
With a sigh, he poured himself a glass of orange juice. From some hidden place inside the walls an   
adventurous cockroach scuttled forth and waved its insectile antennae at him in what he convinced   
himself was a pleasant greeting. He smiled.   
  
"You, too, little friend?" he addressed the tiny scavenger, merrily. "Are you hungry as well? Bien!"   
He made a sweeping gesture taking in the cabinets and the refrigerator. "Bon appetite, mon frere!"   
he invited.  
  
In the living room he sat his radio on the upright orange crate that passed for a coffee table, tuned it   
to a classical station, and lay back with a sigh on the battered and stained Salvation Army couch. He   
had almost lost himself in the magic of Vivaldi and Mozart when he was roused, sent crashing willy   
nilly back down into the unwelcome arms of harsh reality.  
  
"Technology is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" inquired a pleasant non-descript voice at his rear. "Of   
course, not everyone appreciates change," the voice continued as Jean-Paul leapt to his feet to face   
its owner. "I like the old ways best, don't you?"   
  
The tall young man found himself facing a smaller equally blond fellow whose rounded face was as   
pleasantly attractive as his voice. His shaggy blond hair swept over his forehead above a pair of   
bright green eyes. It was the eyes that captured Jean-Paul's attention now. Leaning against a doorway, the other man regarded the Angel of Vengeance and Destruction from out of bottomless eyes the color of old   
bottle glass. Beneath their emerald depths something disturbing stirred just out of sight, behind the   
iris' where all the secrets hid. Involuntarily, the man in the colorful pajama bottoms crossed himself.  
  
Jean-Paul's eyes widened as he regarded the smaller shaggy haired blond man with the bright green   
eyes who blocked his path.  
  
"I - know you," he said slowly, almost uneasily.  
  
"Oh, yes," said Andrew, the Angel of Death, and nodded. "You've known me for most of your life.   
The first time you met me, you were barely 3 years old. Your father held your hand and covered   
your eyes so you wouldn't see the men who came for you. The men who hurt you so that you could learn   
to hurt them back. And you *did* learn, didn't you? He told you not to be afraid but you were.   
After that, we met quite a few times. We're old friends, you and I ..." Andrew smiled sadly.   
"You've given me a lot of work over the years."   
  
Involuntarily, Jean-Paul Valley backed away from the strange man. His blue eyes never wavered,   
though, as he faced the other. The muscles of the young Frenchman's pleasant, unassuming face   
tensed. And suddenly ... Jean-Paul Valley was ...gone ... From beneath the battered couch, a   
sword appeared with blinding, inhuman speed. Sharp metal hovered in the air only inches from the   
blond man's eyes.  
  
"Who *are* you and what do you wish of me?" Azrael demanded. Andrew pushed the sword   
gently aside.  
  
"My name is Andrew," he said, "and you won't need that ..." Looking unconvinced, the barely clad   
man named for an Angel nevertheless made no move.   
  
"What do you wish of me?" he said again, softer this time. Andrew strolled unhurriedly over and   
looked up at the taller man with an angelic smile.  
  
"Why, I want to introduce you to someone," he told his threatening companion.   
  
The world twisted, stretched and folded in on itself. In the blink of an eye the tiny harshly lit room   
was gone. Rubbing his eyes Azrael peered into the brightness of a large one room laboratory filled   
with bubbling chemicals and the presence of many odd machines, humming and blinking.. Like a sea   
wave the smell of death and despair assailed him. Carefully, Andrew stepped between two hefty   
metal work benches strewn with the still bloody instruments of the surgeons trade. Since the body of   
the female ape lying vivisected upon the one larger table was dead, she did not see them. Gaping   
wide, her now empty womb lay open and exposed; torn and violated. Andrew schooled his bright   
features to calmness and pointed.  
  
"Him for example," he invited Azrael's attention.  
  
Raising from the floor below to the ceiling far above, a tall transparent column snaked its way.   
Floating within the column's bubbling, churning pale yellow nutrient fluids was an unborn fetus, eyes   
tightly closed, tiny fists tucked under the sharp chin, dreaming peacefully. A tall man clad in gray   
vestments, the disfigured side of his face covered with a metal plate, scurried about, murmuring to   
himself.  
  
"Ah, my little future Azrael," he soothed the infant in the tank, "soon, now. Soon. Soon it will be   
time to impart to you your wrath. Yes, yes, yes, it will. The Gray Abbott must do his duty; yes, yes,   
he must."  
  
Turning his attention to the computer console before which he stood, the Gray Abbott's supple   
hands flew over the dials, marking the proper settings from long experience.  
  
"Not to much now," he cautioned himself in a stern voice. "No, no, no, never too much. Too much   
electricity is death. Then we must start all over again. Not good. Not good. Bad. Wasting of time   
and genetic material. Just enough to be painful. Enough to teach you. Oh my, yes. Teach you."  
  
With the touch of a key the room was flooded suddenly with the strong smell of ozone and the Gray   
Abbott smiled. The infant in the tank writhed and flailed in agony, wind milling its small limbs in pain   
and betrayal. Its eyes flew open. The tiny mouth opened to scream. But no sound emerged, of   
course, to disturb the peace and tranquility of the laboratory.  
  
"Are you angry, my little Azrael?" the Gray Abbott chortled. "Yes, yes, yes, you *are*! 'Rage,   
rage, rage against the dawning of the Light!'" he quoted. "You must always be angry, little one. Yes,   
you must. More angelic wrath is coming." He adjusted the controls again and set the timer. "Every   
twelve hours, yes. You must be made very, very angry."  
  
Azrael's hands knotted into fists at his side and he shook for an instant.  
  
"Don't you recognize him?" asked Andrew. "Look closely."  
  
Slowly, the Holy Assassin approached the child gestating in the laboratory's forlorn corner.   
Kneeling, he ran his eyes impassively over the tiny writhing body and watched him for several   
moments searching for some spark of rebellion, some sign of defiance. His nose stung with the stink   
of death and helpless despair. The muscles of Azrael's jaw set themselves into taunt chords as he   
stood.   
  
"No," he said flatly, "That's not me. That's Jean-Paul. No, I don't know him." Andrew looked   
unhappy.  
  
"That's too bad," he said. "He could use a friend."  
  
Turning away from the vista of the growing, hopeless infant suffering in his tank of animal fluids, the   
Angel of Vengeance and Destruction may have paled. It was difficult to tell.   
  
"He learned. He obeyed. He is blessed and devout. His is the work of Angels. He is a servant of   
righteousness who is loyal and obedient. He will not be swayed."   
  
"No," Andrew said quietly, "he *believed*." Azrael nodded and his vise like grip on the sword in his   
hands tightened.  
  
"Yes, he was always very good at that."  
  
The blond Angel stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. Again, reality seemed to spin out of   
control, to whirl and change, leaving Azrael dizzy and slightly nauseous in the wake of its   
transformation. In a breath they found themselves standing in the midst of a large crowd. Acrid   
sweat stung their eyes from the heat and the voices of many angry men filled their ears. Andrew   
pointed at the object of their wrath.  
  
"What about him?" he asked.  
  
The boy put up a splendid fight. About him the ground was littered with the scattered bodies of his   
enemies, moaning softly and whimpering in pain. The hairy, craggy face of the dwarfling called   
Nomoz, charged with his training, looked pleased. The thirteen year old boy stood stock still,   
vacant eyed, his youthful face without expression; awaiting further orders.   
  
The tall blond man, in whose handsome face could be seen the reflection of the younger boy's   
smooth features, looked somewhat troubled. "Nomoz," he addressed the burly little man, "must he   
be trained in such a way? With living targets? It seems wasteful." He pointed at one of the twisted   
figures lying so motionless on the hard floor. "I think that man is dead. He was a loyal brother of   
The Order. Surely there must be a better way than this. It troubles me."  
  
Nomoz frowned. "It is the way that the Azrael's have always been trained, Ludovic Valley. It is the   
way that *you* were trained."  
  
Ludovic Valley bit his lip. "I know that, Nomoz. I know that. But I was hoping ... I - I suppose I   
was hoping that things might be different for him ... "   
  
"Why should he be different, Ludovic Valley?" the dwarfling was puzzled. "This is the way that the   
training has always been done. This is the best way. 'The System' is infallible." The hairy brows   
knitted themselves together ominously. "Careful lest you transgress into blasphemy, Azrael," he   
warned. The elder Valley cast a sidelong glance at the boy standing so still and unheeding, his face   
blank like a fresh sheet of clean parchment unstained by any ink, staring at him for several moments.   
Tabla rasa. And what was the Order writing upon that blank slate? Death and destruction. Then he   
swiftly gathered himself, remembering what he was about, bowing his head slightly.  
  
"As you say," he whispered. "Be it so. I obey."  
  
"Of course you do," observed Nomoz dryly. "You are Azrael. That is what Azrael does."  
  
Azrael said nothing, until finally ...  
  
"Nomoz ... his eyes. I am worried about his eyes," the older man explained. "He is short sighted.   
How is this possible?"  
  
A brief look of concern passed over the drawfling's flat face. "Unknown," he admitted. "The Gray   
Abbott is investigating. It may be that the genetic matrix is ... degrading ... after so long. It has been   
almost five hundred years that Azrael has served The Order. None can say. Further tests are   
required. The problem will be studied and, if necessary ... corrected ... "  
  
Ludovic Valley paled. For an instant he moved, as if to stand between the boy and the dwarfling; to   
protect him. His hand, laying lightly upon the developing shoulder, tightened until the knuckles were   
white. "No!" he cried. "You can't mean - No, pluh - please ... he - he's only a *boy*! Please ... no   
... "  
  
"Doubtless termination will not be necessary," said Nomoz and observed carefully as Ludovic Valley   
relaxed. "It is only a minor flaw. Easily repaired. He will be fitted with corrective lenses and given   
exercises to strengthen the muscles of his eyes. Ophthalmic surgery may be an option at a later   
time."  
  
Azrael nodded briefly but otherwise remained silent.  
  
"I must report our progress to Blessed Brother Rollo," Nomoz informed him. "He will be pleased.   
The boy learns quickly. That is good. You may release him from his state of hypnotic suggestion,   
now that the lesson is complete. Then summon his tutor to continue his studies. Brother Rollo will   
call for you shortly. He has another assignment for you."  
  
Watching carefully as servants removed the bodies and assisted the injured to the Infirmary, Ludovic   
Valley stood as still and expressionless as the hypnotized boy at his side. When he was sure they   
were alone he smoothed the boy's long blond hair (so like and yet so different from his own short   
locks) into neatness. He did not speak. But his hands, when he touched the youngster, were   
gentle. And awkward. As if he weren't quite sure how it was done, this touching.   
  
"I wish .. I wish ... "  
  
From his face, it was plain that he did not know what he wished. Only that he wished for something   
other than this ... something better.   
  
"You are a foolish man," he whispered to himself and then spoke the words that would release   
Jean-Paul back to reality. When the boy returned to awareness Ludovic Valley was gone. As if he'd   
never been there at all. There was only the stout figure of Sister Caramina to greet him. The nun   
wasted no time.  
  
"Conjugate the verb, 'to be'," she instructed in her shrill pedantic voice. "In Latin and then in Greek."  
  
Blinking back confusion, the boy obeyed. But he must have been distracted.  
  
"No!" the Sister barked, and brought her wooden cane down smartly on his tender exposed   
knuckles. "Wrong! Do it again."  
  
Gazing into his own arctic blue eyes blazing with rage and pain, Azrael nodded.  
  
"Now, *him* I know," he said.  
  
"I thought you might," was Andrew's sad admission.   
  
Azrael stood mute. But nothing ever seemed to reach or warm his blue eyes. "He is holy. He does   
his duty," the tall man declared.  
  
"Oh yes, " Andrew conceded, "he's great at keeping the world at bay; at frightening people so they   
can't hurt you anymore. Splendid for making sure Jean-Paul doesn't feel helpless as he was meant   
to. But, then, that's what he's for, isn't it?" The man with the frozen soul scowled and brought his   
hand up in a threatening salute.  
  
"So is *this*," he replied and the sword point still hovering near Andrew's eyes flickered.   
  
"You don't need that here," Andrew reminded him. Earnestly he pleaded with the man who believed   
that he was an Angel, "Don't you see? You've been granted a second chance here. Don't blow it!   
You can make a difference. Jean-Paul Valley *isn't* helpless. Not as long as he uses his mind and   
his spirit to help others! You could be a vital part of that. That's all he ever wanted to do; help   
others. To bring them to God because that's where he always felt safest. When the Order taught   
him that the best way to do that was to kill the blasphemers among them ... he believed them. But   
they lied to you. You know that now, don't you? No one here will hurt you unless you hurt them.   
You don't need to frighten them to be safe." Azrael blinked and began backing away.  
  
"I don't believe you!" he cried. Andrew nodded his head sadly.  
  
"I know. Maybe someday you will. That's part of why I'm here but there isn't much time. There's   
peace and joy for you here if you'll only reach out and take it. Wouldn't you like that? In the   
beginning it was all that tortured, abused little boy wanted. Just ... not to hurt anymore. And to help others." The man who called himself Azrael stared at the smaller blond man, but it was 13 year old Jean-Paul Valley who was forced to look away. Then, without a word, he spun on his heel and left Andrew staring at his broad back.  
  
"Did you really think he'd listen?" inquired a deep, rumbling voice at the Angel's back. Andrew   
shook his head ruefully. It wasn't just anybody who could sneak up on Death. Smiling, Andrew   
turned to face the voice from the deep shadows. Another old friend.  
  
"Why not?" Andrew said mildly. "*You* did."  
  
The Batman snorted through his nose then inhaled deeply. "And it only took me most of thirty five   
years," he observed with sarcasm. "That has to be a record."   
  
Andrew laughed. "Not really, Bruce Thomas," he said. The Dark Knight Avenger grew still.  
  
"Now there's a name I haven't heard in a very long time." The man behind the cowl of The Batman   
looked away. "Don't call me that. He's dead. As dead as his parents who named him that."   
Andrew raised one pale eyebrow in inquiry.   
  
"*Is* he? As dead as that other little boy?"   
  
The hero of Gotham straightened, brushing the question aside.  
  
"I'm not the reason you're here," he pointed out slowly. He gestured in the direction of the disappearing Azrael. "He is. You've got your hands full this time, I'm afraid." Andrew rubbed the back of his neck and   
made a wry face.  
  
"Definitely," he agreed with a heartfelt sigh of exasperation. The taller Batman stared off into the   
gathering gloom with pensive, troubled eyes.  
  
"He's going to die, isn't he? That's why you're here." After an instant that lasted no longer than a   
heartbeat, Andrew nodded. The muscles of The Batman's face worked themselves in silence.   
  
"Soon?" The angry shadows in his dark blue eyes were the only thing that betrayed the Dark   
Knight, his voice was steady as a rock.  
  
"Soon enough," Andrew replied softly. "I'm here to help him find his way Home."  
  
"Why bother?" asked The Batman in a rough, hoarse voice that betrayed his pain. "Is he that   
important?" The Angel of Death smiled.  
  
"Everybody's important, Bruce. You know that. You've dedicated your life to that," Andrew said   
softly. Then he smiled widely. "Oh no, Angel Boy!" he cried in a perfect imitation of Tess' vibrant   
contralto, "You don't get to pick and choose! God's love is for everybody not just the good folks!   
He's all yours!"   
  
The Batman didn't laugh but a small smile scampered past his guard before he could summon it   
back. For a moment he reflected on the irony that Death was one of the only people who could   
make him smile. Bruce Thomas Wayne decided that it was a good thing for one soul to laugh with   
another. When silence reigned once more Andrew lay a hand on the taller man's shoulder.  
  
"Why is he important? I don't know. Why is anyone important? He's important because he lives;   
because he suffers. And, maybe, just maybe, because if there's hope for him, then there's hope for   
all of us." At first The Batman said nothing but there was a gathering storm behind those eyes that   
were the exact shade of a dying Summer sky. Smiling, The Batman snorted hot derision.   
  
"Did anyone ever tell you that for The Angel of Death you're a pushover?"  
  
"All the time," muttered Andrew glumly, "all the time."  
  
  
  
THE END  
  



End file.
